Retrieving rake for golf balls



Oct. 25, 1955 w. H. WALNER 2,721,755

RETRIEVING RAKE FOR GOLF BALLS Original Filed Aug. 8, 1948 El E5 A? /a f; EL: 5'

INVENTOR. WILLIAM H- WALNER 9 Mam 40mm 772 1270/5759)" United States Patent RETRIEVING RAKE FOR GOLF BALLS William H. Walner, Norfolk, Va.

Substituted for abandoned application Serial No. 42,293, August 3, 1948. This application December 3, 1954, Serial No. 472,986

2 Claims. (Cl. 294-19) This invention relates to golf ball retrievers, and particularly to a special type of rake for retrieving golf balls.

The main object of my invention is to provide a retrieving device for golf balls in the form of an attachment to the shaft of a golf club.

Another object is to provide a detachable golf ball retrieving rake head adapted to be conveniently applied to and removed from the handle end of a golf club shaft.

A further object is to convert a golf club into a retrieving rake for recovering golf balls from rough terrain, water or irregular and more or less inaccessible places.

It is also an object to have such a ball retrieving rake attachment which is simple in form and readily manufactured at reasonable cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in further detail as the specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension of this invention for a proper appreciation of the salient features thereof, the invention is illustrated on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a golf club with a golf ball retrieving rake applied thereto according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the retrieving rake head alone;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a modification of the ball retrieving rake head as shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

In the views the same reference numerals indicate the same or like parts.

Among golfers it is frequently a recurring problem to retrieve a golf ball that has dropped into the rough terrain or water, or into more or less inaccessible places. In water and muddy terrain, certain difficulty is obviously encountered in the attempt to recover the lost ball, and even in the rough careful searching will often fail to disclose the ball. It has, therefore, occurred to me that if a ball retrieving device should partake of the nature of a rake, the ball would easily be recovered even in rough scrub or grass which otherwise could be scoured in vain inasmuch as such a device readily covers a sizeable territory in relatively few strokes.

After duly considering this problem, I have succeeded in producing a rake head for retrieving golf balls and adapted to be applied to a golf club, as will now be particularly described.

Hence, in the practice of my invention, and referring again to the drawing, the golf club 6 has a tapered shaft 7 terminating at the upper end in the handle portion 8 and as a whole, being more or less conventional in form. A rake head, generally indicated at 9, primarily includes an elongated bar 10 having a series of depending spaced teeth 11, 11 integral therewith, there being a space provided for clearance in the intermediate portion of the rake head at 12, while upon the rear of the elongated bar 10 ice and the upper portions of the ,two teeth 11 disposed at either side of the central clearance space 12 is riveted, brazed or welded a rigid plate-like block 13 having a downwardly open circular aperture 14 in the lower portion thereof with the bottom opening 15 a suflicient width to pass the narrowest lower portion of shaft 7 therethrough in order to straddle the block 13 on the shaft. Preferably, the interior of the opening 14 is lined with rubber or other soft or resilient lining 16 in order to compensate for diiferences in the sizes of the handle portions of the several different clubs usually carried in a golf bag thereby to render the rake attachment suitable for use on any one of the several clubs and to avoid damaging the shaft 7 or the handle 8, while also contributing to the frictional grip of the block 13 upon the handle when the head 9 with its block 13 is slid up along the shaft to the handle portion and wedged thereon, due to the fact that the handle portion is the widest or greater in diameter over the rest of the shaft 7. Lining 16 is preferably cemented in place.

When the rake head 9 is frictionally held in its wedged position on the upper handle end 8 of the shaft 7 of the club 6, it is evident that the shaft may be used as a handle by which to run the teeth 11, 11 through the grass or scrub, or even the water, wherein the lost ball is to be retrieved.

It is evident that a separate wedging block 13 is not necessarily attached to the rake head 9, but the latter may instead be formed in such fashion as to have the handle wedging portion integral therewith, as particularly shown in the modification of Figures 4 and 5. In this form, the rake head 17 includes an elongated upper rigid plate-like frame member 18 having an upwardly arched intermediate portion 19 with a series of spaced teeth 20, 20 depending integrally down from the frame 18 on either side of the upwardly arched central portion 19. The two middle teeth 21, 21 at their lower ends are spaced a useful distance apart, and between these teeth immediately below the upper arched portion 19 is an arcuate opening 22 lined with rubber, felt, leather or other soft lining 23 for engaging upon the handle 8 of golf club shaft 7, as already described in connection with the clamping or wedging block 13 and its arcuate aperture or opening 14. The mentioned rake head 17 is naturally applied to and removed from and otherwise used in the same fashion as the previously described rake head 9 with its block 13 fixed thereto.

The rake head and the block may be made of metal, plastic or any other material which will serve the purpose, and among metals aluminum is useful due to its lightness.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

This application is a substitute of my now abandoned prior application Serial No. 42,293, filed August 3, 1948, Retrieving Rake for Golf Balls.

Having thus described the invention what is new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A rake for attachment to a golf club including a ball engaging head and a shaft tapering from one end to the other end thereof with said other end secured to said head, said rake comprising a bar adapted to be arranged transversely and inwardly of said one end of said shaft, a saddle arranged longitudinally of said bar intermediate the ends of the latter and secured to said bar, and spaced teeth arranged longitudinally of said bar between said saddle and the adjacent ends of said bar and carried by said bar, said saddle being sized to freely receive a portion of said shaft spaced inwardly of said other end of said shaft and to wedgingly engage said shaft when said rake is moved toward said one end of said shaft.

2. A rake for attachment to a golf club including a ball engaging head and a shaft tapering from one end to the other end thereof with said other end secured to said head, said rake comprising a bar adapted to be arranged transversely and inwardly of said one end of said shaft, a saddle arranged longitudinally of said bar intermediate the ends of the latter and secured to said bar, a pair of spaced teeth arranged longitudinally of said bar and dependingly secured to said saddle, said saddle being in the same plane as said bar, and spaced teeth arranged longitudinally of said bar between said saddle and the adjacent ends of said bar and carried by said bar, said saddle being sized to freely receive a portion of said shaft spaced inwardly of said other end of said shaft and to wedgingly engage said shaft when said rake is moved toward said one end of said shaft.

No references cited. 

